LESSON NO. 1: If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and take you someplace you do not want to go because of who you are or what you think -- kill him. If you can, kill the politician who sent him. You will likely die anyway, and you will be saving someone else the same fate. For it is a universal truth that the intended victims always far outnumber the tyrant's executioners. Any nation which practices this lesson will quickly run out of executioners and tyrants, or they will run out of it.

LESSON NO. 2: If a bureaucrat, or a soldier sent by a bureaucrat, comes to knock down your door and confiscate your firearms -- kill him. The disarmament of law-abiding citizens is the required precursor to genocide.

LESSON NO. 3: If a bureaucrat tells you that he must know if you have a firearm so he can put your name on a list for the common good, or wants to issue you an identity card so that you be more easily identified -- tell him to go to hell. Registration of people and firearms is the required precursor to the tyranny which permits genocide. Bureaucrats cannot send soldiers to doors that are not on their list.

Click the link to read the clear-eyed rest of it. #1 sounds like it could have been written by Heinlein.

They've always done that. It's just that some of the reporters who consider the Obama WH friends and allies are apparently surprised that those rules apply to them, too, if they stray off the reservation.

The finest education in firearm safety you can get. Our classes are kept small and a great emphasis is put on proper education.

Mission

It is our goal to turn out highly competent gun owners who are well versed in the practical knowledge of shooting, but who also live and breathe safety-first. Sacrificing proper knowledge on gun safety has caused too many accidents to count in recent years. We fully support everyone’s right to own a firearm, but we’re going to be 100% sure you have the proper training to carry with confidence and to safely use, clean, and store your firearm before we issue a certificate of completion. We do not guarantee 100% pass rates for our classes, unlike many instructors who simply want to take your money and put as many students in a room as possible.

I wish him good luck with it. Maybe after he gets it established and running for a while I'll enquire about a class, but I think I'll give the local fella my money first.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

A couple of knives I picked up yesterday from my friend Mike McRae of Scotia Metalwork. These are a ballock dagger with an African Blackwood handle (top) and a sgian dubh with a brass guard and a handle of stabilized elmwood burl. Both are forged of 5160 steel and differentially hardened.

A draft of the committee's findings determined that if temperatures rise in the South by 9 degrees as projected by some over the next 70 years, South Carolina would see more beach flooding and invasion of non-native species such as piranha and Asian swamp eels, according to a draft of the report obtained by The State of Columbia.

One scientist involved in the initial work on the report for the Department of Natural Resources said there were political concerns whether readers of the report would accept that global warming was happening and was a danger.

"There were concerns about the political nature of it," Barry Beasley said.

In the age of texting, tweeting and other technological ways of communicating, North Carolina’s elementary school students could soon have to master a more old-fashioned craft: writing in cursive.

A bill introduced in the state House this week would once again make cursive handwriting a part of the curriculum in state elementary schools. The “Back to Basics” bill also would require elementary students to memorize multiplication tables, though state education officials say that’s already part of the curriculum.

North Carolina’s move to bring back cursive comes at a time when other states from California to Massachusetts also are trying to revive what’s become a lost skill.

We're in a transitional stage at which we can either let cursive die, or make a determination to keep it alive. Why would you want to? Well, our founding documents - - The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are written in cursive. Certainly you can find printed versions on the internet, but what if you were standing in front of one of the documents itself? You'd be lost without cursive. Say that you found an old diary in the attic, written in cursive - - you cannot read it; are you willing to trust it to a stranger to read for you? Anything that was written down before the advent of computers was probably written in cursive, and that is still a lot of material. Are we simply losing our capacity as humans to absorb lots of skills? Must we admit that we're less capable than our parents and grandparents? I'd hate to think so.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Metro Atlanta police departments and sheriff’s offices have armored trucks and personnel carriers in their arsenals.

And the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office has in its possession four grenade launchers should there be a need to send canisters of tear gas or bean bags into a volatile situation.

All donated surplus military equipment is available to law enforcement agencies nationwide — large and small.

Some people are upset that there are local law enforcement agencies armed with such weapons of war. But the agencies that got the guns, armored vehicles and grenade launchers say it sends a message to would-be criminals: Officers “are armed to meet any threat,” so criminals should just stay away, said Bloomingdale Police Chief Roy Pike.

From the so-called 1033 program operated by a U.S. Department of Defense unit, Pike’s department of 13 officers acquired a grenade launcher for shooting tear gas, two M14 single-shot semi-automatic rifles and two M16 military-style rifles converted to semi-automatic from automatic.

The Cato Institute, a Washington-based think tank that promotes individual liberty and limited government, believes the military surplus program should be shut down, said Tim Lynch, director of the criminal justice project.

“When this equipment is given away, police departments start saying, ‘Let’s grab it.’” And once the equipment is in the hands of law enforcement, “we have militarized units going into the community in situations where they aren’t warranted,” Lynch said.

“This is one of the most alarming trends in American policing,” Lynch continued. “We used to call them peace officers and they would treat people ... with more respect and civility. We’re getting away from that. We’re getting into these military tactics and mind-set that the people they (police) come into contact with are the enemy ... and part of this is the militarized units in police departments.”

Candace Garrett Daly, a Cobb County homemaker, is equally unnerved.

“What are we headed to?” Garrett asked. “Whatever it is seems to be already in motion at a breakneck speed. The police are preparing for an enemy. My question is, ‘Who is the enemy?’”

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Sad that the girls won't be able to enjoy the camp any more; I guess the fact that the owner is going to use the property to restore longleaf pine forest is something of a consolation; he could just as easily have turned it into condos or a shopping center.

As I left the Halls at Lumley, rose the vision of a comely
Maid last season worshipped dumbly, watched with fervor from afar;
And I wondered idly, blindly, if the maid would greet me kindly.
That was all -- the rest was settled by the clinking tonga-bar.
Yea, my life and hers were coupled by the tonga coupling-bar.

For my misty meditation, at the second changing-station,
Suffered sudden dislocation, fled before the tuneless jar
Of a Wagner obbligato, scherzo, doublehand staccato,
Played on either pony's saddle by the clacking tonga-bar --
Played with human speech, I fancied, by the jigging, jolting bar.

"She was sweet," thought I, "last season, but 'twere surely wild unreason
Such tiny hope to freeze on as was offered by my Star,
When she whispered, something sadly: 'I -- we feel your going badly!'"
"And you let the chance escape you?" rapped the rattling tonga-bar.
"What a chance and what an idiot!" clicked the vicious tonga-bar.

Heart of man -- O heart of putty! Had I gone by Kakahutti,
On the old Hill-road and rutty, I had 'scaped that fatal car.
But his fortune each must bide by, so I watched the milestones slide by,
To "You call on Her to-morrow!" -- no fugue with cymbals by the bar --
You must call on Her to-morrow!" -- post-horn gallop by the bar.

Yet a further stage my goal on -- we were whirling down to Solon,
With a double lurch and roll on, best foot foremost, ganz und gar --
"She was very sweet," I hinted. "If a kiss had been imprinted?" --
"'Would ha' saved a world of trouble!" clashed the busy tonga-bar.
"'Been accepted or rejected!" banged and clanged the tonga-bar.

Then a notion wild and daring, 'spite the income tax's paring,
And a hasty thought of sharing -- less than many incomes are,
Made me put a question private, you can guess what I would drive at.
"You must work the sum to prove it," clanked the careless tonga-bar.
"Simple Rule of Two will prove it," lilted back the tonga-bar.

It was under Khyraghaut I mused. "Suppose the maid be haughty --
There are lovers rich -- and forty -- wait some wealthy Avatar?
Answer, monitor untiring, 'twixt the ponies twain perspiring!"
"Faint heart never won fair lady," creaked the straining tonga-bar.
"Can I tell you ere you ask Her?" pounded slow the tonga-bar.

Last, the Tara Devi turning showed the lights of Simla burning,
Lit my little lazy yearning to a fiercer flame by far.
As below the Mall we jingled, through my very heart it tingled --
Did the iterated order of the threshing tonga-bar --
Try your luck -- you can't do better!" twanged the loosened tongar-bar.

Do you recognize that rhyme pattern and meter? It's very famous:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

Yes, Kipling wrote As the Bell Clinks as a pastiche of Poe's The Raven. It is an early work, when he was learning his craft. More information on the poem here.

Friday, February 22, 2013

New Years Eve apparently include a possum drop again this year in the North Carolina mountain community of Brasstown.

The state Senate voted 41-2 Thursday in favor of a bill that would give a state agency the right to issue a permit to organizers of the annual Brasstown Possum Drop.

The event, in an unincorporated community in Clay County, began nearly 20 years ago. Organizer Clay Logan said he wanted some sort of fun way to bring in the new year. Rather than raise a ball, as in New York City, he and other event sponsors put an opossum in a large, glass-walled box, and slowly lowered it to the ground.

The animal is then released, Logan says.

But the event was blocked two months ago by PETA, which claimed it amounted to animal abuse. PETA successfully got a court order stopping the event, saying the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources did not have the authority to grant a permit allowing someone to temporarily hold a wild animal.

Don't know if this means that PETA will surrender on the issue, though. Liberal groups are stubborn about such things.

David Bremson sees plenty of rescues in the Superstition Wilderness, like the 51-year-old woman who had to be pulled from the mountains for the second time in three months Wednesday after she got lost seeking the legendary Lost Dutchman's gold.

Typically, the weather is nice. People go hiking, hunting or seeking their fortune, and when someone gets lost or injured, search-and-rescue volunteers are called. Bremson, operations chief of the Central Arizona Mountain Rescue Association, doesn't mind doing rescues. But he has a message.

He doesn't believe the Lost Dutchman's gold exists, so his advice is don't endanger yourself looking for it. But if you do get in a jam, his team is not going to bill you for their work.

"Most of the body recoveries we've done out of the Supes have been Dutch hunters," Bremson said.

Part 5 of a continuing discussion of prominent people. A couple of examples:

Pete Seeger: Seeger… he's a saint. Pete Seeger's a fucking saint, but I never found his music very interesting. You know, musically he can play the banjo, but he's so political, so deeply, vehemently political — and I agree with his politics completely — but it made his music political; the message was more important than the quality of the music to him. He's a literary musician, you know? But he dedicated himself to getting out there an playing these left-wing, rousing songs to labor unions and strikers, it's amazing they never put him in jail. Well, actually, I think he was in trouble for a while but he never went to jail. Is he still alive? I think he is. I think he's still going! I know someone who recently talked to him and I guess Seeger is very inspirational. He's still very lucid and he talked about the old days. You know, he started all that political campaigning in the '30s, and he started very young with that. He's from an upper-class family with money. I think it was the Seeger family whose maid was Elizabeth Cotton, and one day they found her playing guitar and singing and they went, "Oh my God! This woman is a talented singer/musician!" Somebody, years ago, gave me, as a gift, a huge box set of ten LPs of all of that left-wing folk music done by the folknics, not by the real folk, but the folknics of the '50s and early '60s: the Almanac Singers; Joan Baez and Pete Seeger. It's just totally uninteresting. Real country hillbilly music by deeply ignorant, racist people is much more interesting than that stuff. As I said, I agree totally with their politics, but musically it's really uninteresting. The whole folknic scene, even when it was happening in the late '50s and early '60s, I was never moved by it. I preferred rockabilly. [laughs]

Michelangelo: Michelangelo? That's interesting, because just last night Pete Poplaski and I were looking at a book of reproductions of the Sistine Chapel. I had seen it before, but now they've just restored the place and everything is very bright and clear now. And examining it, Pete and I had a discussion about it, because Pete's into all that Renaissance art, and I was looking at it and it just seemed very mannered and stylized to me and not very interesting. The guy is just like glorifying the male body. It's all about writhing, muscular male bodies. And even the women, they have male bodies with tits pasted on. The guy's not into women, you can tell. He's not into feminine at all. He's not interested in the round, elliptical charms of the female form. No, he's interested in the lumpy, muscular male body. And the whole Chapel is nothing but that. And I couldn't find... there wasn't much of a humanistic element, it's just so mannered. And Pete pointed out, as I was talking to him about it, he said, "It's all about the expression of romantic, religious ideas. It's not about real human beings." So for me, there's no subtle humanity about the expressions or what's going on. It's a very deeply Italian thing. A lot of that Renaissance art is like that to me. I prefer the Flemish and German stuff of that period, you know, it's got much more to do with real life and real human beings. Bruegel, to me, is much more interesting than Michelangelo and a lot of those other Renaissance artists from Italy. Even Leonardo's not that interesting to me, although he was one of the first artists to make very, very detailed, naturalistic drawings and paintings. But he's only marginally interesting to me.

Click the link to read them all; the previous discussions can be found there in the sidebar, as well.

Yah, there have been cases in The Walking Dead where you knew that a character would probably die, because the producers didn't bother to give them any screen time; but there have been deaths along the way - - Dale, Shane, Lori, and now Axel - - that left you feeling devastated for one reason or another.

A nice touch that has developed on the show is the "death dinner" for a character who gets killed, with all the cast participating, and the "dead" character having his food paid by the others. Andrew Lincoln (Rick) usually hosts these dinners.

And Carol is getting the reputation on the show of being a black widow. Men don't live long around her.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

We ended up with about 1" on the ground, lovely soft powdery stuff, the sort that turns things into a Christmas snowscape and makes you glad you're in the house with the heater working. This being the South the roads should be melted off this afternoon, and much of the snow in the yards, also.

Right now the protest is limited to small companies. This small movement won't receive any real MSM notice unless one or more of the big names that furnishes weapons to Govco gets on board: Sig, Glock, or Smith & Wesson. It's a good start, though.

I'm thinking that the protest, though, if it does succeed, will just exacerbate the cold civil war currently underway between hippies and rednecks. It will turn several parts of the US into "no-go" areas for gun owners, a sad state of affairs indeed.

Sean at An NC Gun Blog is keeping track of the companies that are part of the protest.

After spending most of his adult life behind bars, 73-year-old Walter Unbehaun decided to rob another bank in hopes of getting caught. He felt more comfortable in prison, court documents allege, and wanted to spend his final years there.

So the balding, gray-haired South Carolina man leaned on a cane as he walked into a bank in suburban Chicago over the weekend and used a novel stickup line: He had just six months to live, so he had nothing left to lose, according to a federal complaint citing his post-arrest interrogation.

I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

A law banning horses from Romanian roads may be responsible for the surge in the fraudulent sale of horse meat on the European beef market, a French politician said today.

Horse-drawn carts were a common form of transport for centuries in Romania, but hundreds of thousands of the animals are feared to have been sent to the abattoir after the change in road rules.

The law, which was passed six years ago but only enforced recently, also banned carts drawn by donkeys, leading to speculation among food-industry officials in France that some of the “horse meat” which has turned up on supermarket shelves in Britain, France and Sweden may, in fact, turn out to be donkey meat. “Horses have been banned from Romanian roads and millions of animals have been sent to the slaughterhouse,” said Jose Bove, a veteran campaigner for small farmers who is now vice-president of the European Parliament agriculture committee.

Saturday, February 09, 2013

“Didn't know the Marines had to take the bolts out of their rifles for the Inaugural,” an email forwarded to Gun Rights Examiner from a United States Marine Corps source observed. “Wonder if someone can explain why [they] would be marching in the inaugural parade with no bolts in their rifles!”

The email linked to a YouTube video of the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade, embedded in this column, featuring Bravo Company Marines from the Marine Barracks Washington. Sure enough, the observation in the email is confirmed by watching the video, with screen shots provided in the photo and slide show accompanying this article.

This prompted an internet search to see if others had also noticed, and the Blur-Brain blog had.

“The bolts have been removed from the rifles rendering them unable to fire a round,” the post stated. “Apparently Obama’s Secret Service doesn’t trust the USMC. Simply searching each guy to make sure he didn’t have a live round hidden on him wasn’t enough, they had to make sure the guns were inoperable.

I knew something was wrong when I didn't see the traditional top crust piece, the one that falls off the cake slice like a bad toupée from a bald man's head. The new, improved cake doesn't slice as easily as the old one, and sticks to the aluminum pan now, resulting in the slices being torn apart as you remove them.

Bastards. Didn't the New Coke debacle teach you retards not to screw with successful, traditional products? Do you think that pound cakes are no different than laundry detergent, to be monkeyed with whenever a new corporate monkey climbs the pole to show his ass?

Although there is some visible surface rust and some worn bluing, it's in pretty good shape, doesn't appear to have been fired much; bright sharp rifling and no scorching to speak of around the forcing cone. It has a flat mainspring and no hammer block, so it is from the WWII era or before.

This one is going to be my sister's bedside gun, since she's not a gun person and is intimidated by the only other handgun in the house, my 1911.

Paid $249 for it, which seems a fair price for the condition it's in; usually revolvers this old are in pretty sorry shape. This one was cheap because .32 Long isn't a popular caliber any more, hasn't been for decades. All the old .38 Smiths, even the junkers, were twice as much as this one.

"…give Piers Morgan an indefinite resident alien and Visa card. Mr. Morgan, the problem that many American gun owners have with you and your continuous discussion of gun control is that you are not an American citizen and have an accent that is distinct and clarifies that you are a foreigner. I want you to know that I agree with you 100% on enacting stricter firearm laws."

I've been busy on Twitter tying Piers Morgan to the killer like a tail on a birthday donkey. Having a blast!

If you're not on Twitter, you're missing a lot of the battle for gun rights. There are more people on Twitter than on anyone's blog; even the most prominent blogs don't get traffic from the famous, but Twitter does. Want to take Piers Morgan to task? He's on Twitter. Most politicians are, including the President. News media? They're all there. Stupid leftist pricks like Michael Moore? He's there, too.

Through use of hashtags - - #guncontrol, for example - - you can follow Tweets from everyone contributing to that particular debate, and even join in the debate yourself. And many gun bloggers do so, and battle leftist gun grabbers to a standstill, usually. Sean Sorrentino from An NC Gun Blog,Bob Owens and Linoge from Walls of the City are prominent in the Twitter gun control wars. I join in myself on occasion, but these guys put in hours fighting the gun grabbers, usually triumphing when the gun grabber quits and blocks them.

Join in! Just keep an extra tab open on your browser for Twitter, and check the updates as often as you like. (The more people you "follow," the more Tweets you'll see, so be conservative about following at first).

You'll also usually hear breaking news on Twitter faster than you'll see it on TV, and you'll get links to stories that people don't bother blogging - - you can blog them yourself, if you choose.

Newbies to Twitter should be a bit slow to just jump in and start Tweeting total strangers, especially celebrities, because you can be "blocked" or even "spam-blocked" if you're obnoxious. Hint - - the more "followers" that you have, the less likely you are to be "spam-blocked." Fortunately, the Twitter Gulag Defense Network is there to help you network with other conservatives to avoid being "spam-blocked."

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

While on my daily walk around the neighborhood I saw that the daffodils have started blooming. We may have some weather anomalies for the next month or two, but for all intents and purposes, it's spring.

Look closely at your new W-2 form this tax season. Notice Box 12 and a two-letter code, DD.

If you work for an employer with 250 or more workers, information in that box for the first time is required by the Affordable Care Act. It tells how much you and your employer spent on your health insurance premiums.

The sheriff of York County, South Carolina, Bruce Bryant, explains it:

"First and foremost, no President of the United States has any authority over the office of any sheriff in America. As President, he may address federal law-enforcement agencies, but not local agencies. Nor do sheriffs possess the authority to enforce federal laws or presidential orders; only federal law enforcement agencies may do so.

"One should also remember that the US Constitution does not say one word regarding the office of sheriff, which is purely a state office. In some states, the office of sheriff is statutorily created; in others, it is constitutionally created. The office of Sheriff is a constitutional office within the State of South Carolina. The federal government cannot force or coerce a state or local official to perform a function to which they may object.

"I will take care of my county by upholding the Constitution of the State of South Carolina and the Constitution of the United States, including our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

"Responsible gun ownership is the constitutional right of American citizens. As a federally protected right, this issue should be addressed with your United States Congressmen and Senators. They must balance our Second Amendment right with the need to prohibit mentally impaired individuals or convicted felons from gun ownership and access to guns. Our elected Federal Legislators have the power to protect your rights.

"This being said, I will not enforce any law that will infringe upon our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. I will also do everything in my power to protect the citizens of my county."

Update 2: Wondering if Jesse Ventura will be welcome at the funeral? I'd guess not if the family has its way, but it's the sort of spectacle that the MSM loves, so look for them to try and broker Ventura appearing at the funeral.

That was always one of the fun days for Catholic kids, as it meant more than just the boring ol' mass. And not long after St. Blase day comes Ash Wednesday and ashes rubbed on your forehead ("Remember, man, you are dust, and to dust you shall return!"). Probably you older folks remember the blessings being in Latin. I missed the Latin mass, being born in 1961.

About Me

What I'm Reading

Rolf Nelson: The Stars Came Back

The MSM

A newsroom comprised entirely of leftists/liberals is no more capable of ideological objectivity than an all-white newsroom would be of racial objectivity, or an all-male newsroom of gender objectivity.

FlickR

Captain Louis Renault

"Round Up the Usual Suspects."

The Drawn Cutlass Philosophy

Be as decent as you can. Don't believe without evidence. Treat things divine with marked respect, and don't have anything to do with them. Do not trust humanity without collateral security, it will play you some scurvy trick. Remember that it hurts no one to be treated as an enemy entitled to respect until he prove himself a friend worthy of affection. Cultivate a taste for distasteful truths. And, finally, most important of all, endeavor to see things as they are, not as they ought to be.

Ambrose Bierce

The Foe

When I am free to walk the streets of Mecca or Medina as the agnostic I am and receive nothing but curious glances, I will believe Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance.

Sign On. You Know You Want To.

A Few Words From Some Founding Fathers

Jeff Cooper's Rules of Gun Safety

All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.

Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)

Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.

Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

Bob's Addendum To Cooper's Rules

A Gun is not a Toy. Don't Play With It.

Bob's Theory of Hush Puppies

Bob's Theory of Hush Puppies: The best hush puppies are oblong shaped, rather like dog turds. The worst ones are spherical, like balls. The spherical ones are usually made from the recipe on a pre-packaged box of hush puppy mix.

Restaurant Ratings

My restaurant ratings, mostly intended for BBQ restaurants, will be on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. Unlike most reviewers, I don't intend to play games with the rating scale by introducing fractions such as "2 and 1/2" or "4 and 3/4," I've always considered that stupid and a signal that the reviewer is trying to avoid making an honest 1-5 judgment.

Here is the breakdown of the ratings:

1 out of 5: waste of time, crap, unable to finish eating; apathy by staff/ownership

2 out of 5: edible, but no effort to impress; staff/management going through motions

3 out of 5: average; reasonably good food, moderate effort by staff/management

On Self-Reliance

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."